Bhullars’ police connect with city

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 10

The moment you enter the office of SSP (Rural) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, one can spot the picture of his lookalike police officer on his backdrop amid the portraits of the Punjab Chief Minister and the Punjab DGP.

“Is that your own portrait for it has the same initials GS Bhullar mentioned underneath”, is what most people ask him and he clarifies: “That’s my dad Guriqbal Singh Bhullar. He too was posted here as the SSP Jalandhar between 1980-84. And it is a sheer coincidence that I got the same posting twice, last being in 2003.”

As the chat goes on, the SSP, whose report of being the richest IPS in Punjab still remains a buzz, shares more insight about his family, “I am in fact the third generation from my family to have been posted as the SSP here. My grandfather Gurdial Singh Bhullar (again same initials) too remained here in 1957. All three of us were inducted as PPS officer with DSP entry level and we all got promoted to the IPS. My grandfather retired as the AIG Railways. My father too was IG when he superannuated.”

Another coincidence in the family is that the three generations have got the same house in Jalandhar during their postings. “The house, currently earmarked for Commissioner’s residence, is which was allotted to my grandpa and where my father spent his childhood. I too had my school days in the same house when my father got posted here. I did my matriculation from Apeejay School and Class XII from Kendriya Vidyalaya-1 here at that time,” he said.

He recalls, “Those were really tough days for our family. The SSPs were on the radar of militants during terrorism. As I moved to St Stephen’s College, Delhi, for higher studies, I escaped a planned attack on me, being SSP’s son. My father had been the DIG border or the SSP Patiala in those days.”

Bhullar, who has now lost both his grandfather and father, tells among many things he learnt from his elders was discipline. “I remember that my grandfather had once called his boss at a place for dinner. Since the guest came late, he did not wait and had his dinner before his arrival. As the guest came, he told him that he has had his dinner and would be there for him only for a while, after which only his children would attend to him. That was the level of discipline,” he laughed as he narrated the incident.

The SSP added, “Among other things that I learnt was to never discuss office at home. Even if my father or tayaji (Gurvinder Singh Bhullar, who too was an IPS) had a trouble in his office, my grandfather never assisted them in the decision-making. He told them if he would do that, my father and uncle would never learn. The same my father did with me too.” Asked if his son, who is now studying in Class XII in Chandigarh, too had intentions to join the force, he replied, “Let’s see, though he does say so”.